Unspoilt family favourite remains positively palatial
THE most dreaded words in my travel life are “closed for refurbishment”. Whenever they apply to one of my favouite places, they inevitably signify the end of something I love and the beginning of something I may just loathe with a deep intensity.
In my professional world I crave change and unpredictability because I have always been in the news business. But in my other life, I have always craved the complete opposite. I know what I like, and I like what I know. So, in recent years, we have regularly returned to the same area of Crete. Yes, I am a creature of habit!
Cue Elounda. Set in a bay with panoramic views over to Spinalonga, the island of Hislop’s best-selling novel, the resort is an hour or so’s drive from Heraklion Airport. But when I say regularly, I should add we hadn’t been for five or six years and had heard reports of huge new builds and re-development upgrades locally.
Our occasional haunt a few miles away was closed for that proverbial makeover, d’oh! What were we going to find then when we checked into another trusted favourite, the five-star Elounda Bay Palace? (www. eloundabay.gr) In the past, an utterly reliable, gloriously peaceful and fabulously paradisaical break from the everyday but in a region that has seen huge building schemes in recent times. We flew in with some tripidation reports ringing in our ears from a friend who had recently visited of some new-look rooms and public areas. What’s not to like, surely?
We needn’t have worried. Laidback luxury with a big ‘L’ was always the hallmark of this sprawling, familyfriendly property that sits in a natural amphitheatre and descends in stages to its sands, topped by a helicopter pad and linked by winding paths through vast, luxuriantly landscaped gardens. And it remains the same today. If anything, it has got better with time!
From the minute you arrive, when staff swoop out to take luggage and hand you a glass of champagne in a reception area replete with antiquarian treasures, you know you are in for a top-notch experience at this blissfully well-serviced hotel. A seaside hotel that’s both familyfriendly and style conscious can be surprisingly hard to find. This cute little number though, ticks all the boxes: cool but unstuffy design, sandy beach, pools and a spa as well as homecooked Cretan food that will keep even the pickiest of eaters very happy indeed.
Its 244 rooms come in all shapes and sizes but try, if you can, to get an updated one with views of the transparent sea below. Most come with earth tones, pastels and wood trim. The only thing not to like at our stay was a bit of a wonky shower attachment and rather dim lighting. But that was it. Everything else was sublime. Here, it’s not high-density, the sea is generally warm and pine-fringed hills inland all add to the allure. ■ GETTING THERE: TUI offers seven-night holidays staying at the Elounda Bay Palace on a half-board basis from £750 per person when booked online. Price is based on two adults sharing and includes flights from Cardiff airport on May 7, 2019, as well as transfers. Go to www.tui.co.uk
■ DON’T MISS: It’s been a while coming, but Cardiff Airport at last has a Meet & Greet parking facility right alongside its main terminal and just minutes from
There are several public pools though our bungalow accommodation, designed with highend comfort in mind, came with its own, immdiately off its expansive sun terrace. A private beach shaded by olive trees with plenty of loungers just a 30-second stroll from our room complete with a chic lounge bar and daybeds was an added welcome refuge. Breakfasts at the indoor/ outdoor restaurant overlooking the bay were as lean and healthy or as sumptuously fattening as your arteries desired. There are Cretan theme nights at Ariadne complete with dancing. And we particularly liked Thalassa, its faultlesslypresented seafood restaurant set right by the water’s edge that delivered deliciously decadent lobsters like nothing I have tasted before and serving dinners with ample choice among Greek and Mediterranean platters. Going half check-in. Worth it if only for the luxury of walking out of the airport at the end of your holiday and finding your car all but on the main doorstep waiting for you. Also worth a visit is its upgraded 51 Degree Executive Lounge open between 05.00 and 21.00 every day. Details at cardiff-airport.com
■ KNOW BEFORE YOU GO: For those of a non-beachy disposition, there’s planty of interest inland: exquisitely frescoed country chapels of the 14th and 15th board is a bonus here as the resort outside, although packed with creditable eateries and tavernas, has little of comparable quality that we could find.
Our next surprise was the general standard of service in all parts of the resort. It was faster, better and generally more reliable than in similar places we have visited, helped by staff who are attentive, offering advice and a range of concierge services. You can be as energetic or as lazy as you fancy here, too. It’s a 10-minute downhill walk to the friendly bars and restaurants of Elounda itself, there’s a great (if not cheap) spa with some excellent floodlit tennis courts and a waterfront sea activity centre where we sampled its kayaks and, later, its scuba diving for a couple of fun hours. Or you can just take a gigantic metaphorical chill pill and do almost nothing other than eat and drink and take the occasional foray to local attractions such as the island of Spinalonga, a 30-minute sea trip away.
What’s certain is that there are few places better to relax than here. And, joyously, it is a resort that has got better with time despite my fears.
It’s a holiday destination muchloved by my family. And if I were writing a news headline about it, it would be this: BREAKING NEWS, the Elounda Bay Palace is as good as ever! centuries, ruined Minoan palaces and towns plus top-drawer hiking and botanising opportunities. Our sole day-trip was a Tui-colection visit to the former leper colony of Spinalonga. A strange place to visit, you may think. But it is worth it for its history. If you are able to, plan your holiday in Crete around a local festival or two – there’s planty of information on the web. We were caught up in a simple, joyful, friendly and time-honoured event owing nothing to tourism which we all loved.